A Disney blooded, crafty, fun-lovin' wife/mom/organizer/planner, etc who is obsessed with all things Disney 🙂 Maria grew up with the Magic Kingdom and has loved watching WDW evolve into what it is today. A firm believer in the Power of Pixie Dust, she is the owner of The Disney Driven Life - A Community for Neurotic Disney People & a d.i.y. crafty blog, Carousel of Projects - create~inspire~share.

**Disclosure – I received these books for review purposes from the Disney Book Group. All opinions are my own.

Story time is always a favorite in this Neurotic Disney home. NDK (Neurotic Disney Kid) is old enough to read, but not too old to still be read to! Books are wonderful on so many levels. We keep them everywhere – even in the car! Disney Books are a great way to keep Disney at home. Disney Book Group was kind enough to send these books for NDK approval – be sure to look for the NDK Review after the description of each book!

Memorial Day Weekend is here – the official start for summer! Finding great books to add to a summer reading list is very important. Just in time are these great new releases from Disney Books! These Alice in Wonderland stories are timed with the release of the new movie, Alice Through the Looking Glass, in theaters now.

Alice in Wonderland

Page Count: 240 pages * Suggested Age: 10-14 years

Price: $16.99

From the publisher:

Join Alice as she disappears down a rabbit hole and emerges in the topsy-turvy world of Wonderland! Curious happenings punctuate Alice’s journey, including wild encounters with the Red Queen, the Mad Hatter, the Jabberwocky, and many others! A reissue of the best-selling novel based on the star-studded spectacular featuring Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean), Anne Hathaway (The Princess Diaries), Alan Rickman (Harry Potter), Christopher Lee (Lord of the Rings), and directed by Tim Burton!

The NDK Review: This was a good book. I haven’t seen this version of the movie. This version is very different from the cartoon. The cartoon version is Alice’s first visit to Wonderland. In this story, Alice is older and makes her second trip to Wonderland, except now she calls it Underland.

One day, while attending a party, Alice noticed White Rabbit. She followed him and fell into the rabbit hole, starting a new journey. This time, she met up with the Tweedles, Mad Hatter, the March Hare & Dormouse. Alice had to return to Underland because the prophecy said that she had to slay the Jabberwocky, who belonged to the Red Queen.

This was an exciting adventure to read. I really want to see the movie so I can compare it to the book.

Alice Through the Looking Glass

Page Count: 304 * Suggested Age: 10-14 years

Price: $16.99

From the back of the book:

Based on the motion picture! When Alice returns to the whimsical world of Underland, all is not well. The Mad Hatter has lost his muchness. That is to say, he has become horribly and certifiably normal. What’s more, the banished Red Queen has devised a plan to regain the throne. Soon Alice realizes that the only way to save the Hatter- and Underland- is to travel to the past and right old wrongs. But Time may not be on her side. In fact, he may even try to stop her!

The NDK Review: This was another great Alice adventure. This version is from the movie that just came out. It’s a good story version, as a lot of the movie is included in this book. I don’t want to spoil the movie if you haven’t seen it yet. So, if you see the movie and really liked it, definitely read this book! The ending of the book is slightly different and lets you know that Alice may soon have another adventure. I can’t wait! If you want to read what I thought about the movie, read my review here.

Alice Through the Looking Glass: A Matter of Time

Page Count: 240 pages * Suggested Age: 8-12

Price: $12.99 * A choose your own ending adventure

From the publisher:

Based on events from the film Alice Through the Looking Glass, this unique illustrated novel allows readers to follow Alice, the Mad Hatter, the Red Queen and the White Queen as the characters journey through time. Each of the four characters have their own new, distinct art style to accompany their unpredictable adventures. As the readers travel along, they will be faced with choices that may turn the world-or at least the book itself-upside down.

The NDK Review: This is a choose-your-own ending book. These are fun because you can always read a different story. In this book, you can choose to be one of four characters: Alice (now), Mad Hatter (then), Red Queen (now), White Queen (then). This story can bounce back and forth in time. So many different things can happen in this book. Some of this book is in the new movie, but other parts are from the character’s past, which may not be seen in the movie. If you choose certain endings, you get to flip the book upside down to finish reading it! This is a fun book. I have read it twice already and can’t wait to try a different ending. The front cover says there are 25 endings!

Walt Disney’s Alice in Wonderland

Page count: 64 pages * Suggested Age: 3-5 years

Price: $16.99 * Features concept art by Mary Blair

From the publisher:

The fantastical tale of a young girl chasing her White Rabbit has delighted children since Lewis Carroll wrote it generations ago. Here his Wonderland shines anew viewed through the looking glasses of two incomparable artists. Mary Blair’s vibrant art helped shape the look of Walt Disney’s classic animated film. Her illustrations capture the essence of such memorable characters as the Queen of Hearts and the Mad Hatter with stunning immediacy.

Jon Scieszka’s captivating text celebrates all that is curious—and all that is nonsensical—about the world that holds Alice spellbound, from a deliciously absurd tea party to the spectacle of a kingdom of playing cards. Brimming with wit and wonder, this sparkling retelling will enchant readers from the moment Alice falls down the rabbit hole, whether or not they’ve made the journey before.

The NDK Review: This is a very pretty version of the Alice in Wonderland that everyone knows, the cartoon version. The sentences are short and easy for beginning readers or little children. I really enjoyed this because the artwork is beautiful. I like Mary Blair art because she designed It’s a Small World and the 5-legged goat on the mural at the Contemporary Resort. I think everyone will like this book because it is a nice story and the pages are very pretty.

Maria H. (ndm#130)

A Disney blooded, crafty, fun-lovin' wife/mom/organizer/planner, etc who is obsessed with all things Disney :) Maria grew up with the Magic Kingdom and has loved watching WDW evolve into what it is today. A firm believer in the Power of Pixie Dust, she is the owner of The Disney Driven Life - A Community for Neurotic Disney People & a d.i.y. crafty blog, Carousel of Projects - create~inspire~share.